High waves crash against the coastline at a beach as the forecasted Super Typhoon Bavi approaches in Guam on July 5, 2026.(Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)
United States: People in Guam and the Northern Marianas moved to emergency evacuation centers and made last-minute preparations on Sunday, hours before a "super typhoon" was projected to bulldoze through the US Pacific territories.
Super Typhoon Bavi was forecast to roar westwards over the area at around 10:00 Monday (0000 GMT) with winds of 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour -- equivalent to a category 5 hurricane -- and gusts of up to 315 kph.
The National Weather Service (NWS) called the typhoon "very dangerous", warning of "tropical storm force" winds from Sunday afternoon or evening and "catastrophic" damage near the system's center later.
"Significant flooding from torrential rains, and coastal inundation are expected," the NWS said, with projected waves of up to 35 feet (10.7 meters) -- the height of a 10-storey building -- creating "extremely dangerous" conditions at sea.
There were few cars on the roads in Guam on Sunday as heavy rain and strong winds lashed the island.
Pinky Cubacub, 55, said as she boarded up the windows of her eatery that she had lined up early on Saturday to buy $500 worth of plywood at a lumber store.
"I cannot afford to lose so many days. It hurts," she told AFP. "Because I just started, whatever we're making right now is just for rent, utilities, and my people, and supplies. I don't even pay myself yet."
Call center employee Arabella Paulino, 48, said: "My girls were saying to me it's scary. But it will be okay."
"My house is concrete, so the worst that can happen is a window could blow in," she told AFP.
Japanese tourist Miku Sakurai, 25, was supposed to fly back to Tokyo with her friends on Sunday but their flight was cancelled because of the weather.
"We will stay in the hotel when the storm comes. I am scared," the office worker told AFP.
Around a dozen surfers, however, were making the most of the windy conditions at one beach in Guam's Talofofo Bay.
"There's quite a lot of debris in the water but it's a lot of fun," said one of them.
